The traditional "school year" is coming to an end. Looking back over the last nine months can cause a person to think one of two thoughts, "Where did all the time go?" or "Look at all we’ve accomplished." I’d guess about 95 percent of homeschoolers would initially react with the first response. There never seems to be enough time in the day, week, or month to accomplish everything you set out to do as a homeschool mom. The task of assessing what you’ve actually accomplished can seem like looking for last night’s roast beef in a refrigerator, which has been accumulating leftovers for weeks. You lose your appetite from thoughts of what you could run into before you find the roast beef.

However, if you knew that there was a hundred dollar bill hidden in one of those leftover containers, putrefying salad couldn’t keep you from finding it. There are treasures to be found assessing your homeschool year, too, and probably not quite as many negative results as you might fear. Let’s go on a treasure hunt together.

When assessing your children it’s best to have actual samples of their work from throughout the year. Some things are not easy to discern without a before and after look. I have a box that I put all the children’s work in as the year progresses. The only organization to this box is that the bottom stuff is the oldest and the stuff on top the latest. The truly organized will file papers by child and month. The box works, too.

Lay aside what you wish had happened and take a long hard look at what really did happen. Sort the papers into a pile for each child. Spend plenty of time sifting through the papers, remembering and noting progress. What can your child do now that he couldn’t do at the beginning of the year? What ability has your child refined? Has your child developed a deep interest in something new this year? Keeping these questions in mind with paper and pen at hand make notes in the categories listed below. As you think about each of these areas, remember to note those unexpected moments, which brought unique learning opportunities.

Mathematics: What new concepts were learned? For example, at the beginning of the year he could add and subtract one digit numbers. At the end of the year, he has learned to carry and borrow, and he can add and subtract numbers through 99. Does he know his math facts? Can he solve daily living problems that require math? Were there specific projects he worked on that used his math skills, cooking, woodworking, or quilting?

Science: What practical science has she participated in? Did she help with the garden or help feed the birds and watch them at your bird feeder? What science topics did you cover? What books did she read? Did she learn to use any pieces of science equipment?

Reading: Compare a book read at the beginning of the year with one he is reading now. Have you noticed him using vocabulary that is more difficult in his daily conversation? If you’ve kept a reading list, it is a great way to look at what has been accomplished in a year of reading. Can he tell you the plot of a story? Can he tell you why he thinks the author wrote the book?

Grammar & Writing: Was this the year your non-writing son wrote his first story? How much writing has your child done this year? Don’t forget email, list making, and other non-assigned writing. Did your child learn to use quotation marks this year? Which grammatical mistakes did she make frequently at the beginning of the year, which have now become less frequent or nonexistent? What kind of writing does she prefer, narrative, descriptive, informative?

Handwriting: Are there even small improvements in his handwriting? Is there a proper amount of space between words? Is she now forming her "M’s" correctly? Is she able to make her letters smaller than at the beginning of the year?

Social Studies: Has he worked on any special projects? What topics did you cover? What books did you read? Did he read any historical fiction? Can he place dates on a time line? Does he know how to use a globe, map, or atlas? Does he remember some of the famous figures from the period of history you studied this year? Do you see him acting out in play what he has read in his history studies? Has he developed a special interest after reading about a particular person or time in history?

Write the insights you glean from this review process into a form that is meaningful to you. That could be a subject-by-subject extremely specific assessment based on a scope and sequence like Diane Lopez’s Teaching Children, or it could take the format of a friendly letter to yourself. There is great treasure waiting for you as you begin to assess your year. You’ll discover hidden progress that you wouldn’t have realized if you hadn’t stopped to assess. You’ll also remember many of the fun times you shared with your children learning about the world around them and their place in it.

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